Tube Noise Communication (1)

Navin Shah: A number of AMs have raised issues related to tube noise in their respective constituencies and have found it virtually impossible to get these resolved. A high-level TfL meeting took place with AMs some months ago to express and identify issues across London. We were given assurances of progress and a written briefing of how the casework will be managed/progressed. Since the meeting there’s been a distinct lack of follow up. I understand that the pandemic has complicated the matters. Please advise what progress has been made with casework and what plans you have to deal with the outstanding issues.

The Mayor: Tube noise is a priority for both Transport for London (TfL) and me.
At present, until a sustainable funding settlement is agreed, TfL’s ability to carry out long-term and expensive interventions to tackle issues such as Tube noise is limited. However, despite these financial challenges, TfL continues to invest significant funding in London Underground track renewal and maintenance, including a continuous programme of rail grinding and track modernisation. Since November 2020, despite the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, TfL has:
I also understand that London Underground’s Managing Director has recently written to London Assembly to provide further information on TfL’s approach to tackling noise and vibration issues, including an update on priority sites. Specific updates have also been shared with Assembly Members in recent months regarding TfL’s planned interventions at a number of locations where residents have been impacted by Tube noise.

Blue Badge Scheme (1)

Len Duvall: The blue badge scheme does not fully apply in four central London boroughs. Do you support this policy? Please give your reasons.

The Mayor: The four central London boroughs referred to – Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, City of London, City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden – run their own schemes for residents and people who work in the borough. The purpose of these schemes is to offer additional priority access for disabled people who need to access homes, education, employment or healthcare in these boroughs, as opposed to disabled drivers who may be visiting these areas for other more discretionary purposes such as shopping or leisure.
For example, in Camden the part of the borough that falls within central London – where pressure on kerb space is particularly high – is designated as a ‘Green Badge Zone’. Anyone who holds a Blue Badge who lives, works or studies in this zone is entitled to a Green Badge as well. The Green Badge allows additional parking opportunities in the zone, including in dedicated Green Badge bays, which are provided in addition to, not instead of, Blue Badge bays.
It is worth noting that the Blue Badge scheme runs in parallel to the local schemes and still prioritises Blue Badge holders above other drivers. I agree an element of consistency to on-street disabled parking policies in London is important, although the details of these are ultimately determined by the borough, as in some cases it is important that local policies reflect differences in the pressure on local streets. Any changes to Blue Badge policies in these boroughs need to be carefully designed to ensure that disabled people who need parking to access their home or workplace are still able to do so.

Creative Industries in Enfield & Haringey

Joanne McCartney: How have your actions promoted and protected the creative industries across Enfield & Haringey?

The Mayor: My Culture and Creative Industries Unit work closely with London boroughs to promote and protect local creative business through a number of programmes and also through the Culture at Risk Office.
For example, Haringey was the pathfinder for my Creative Enterprise Zones programme, and became one of the first ever six Zones, receiving a £240,000 grant to deliver their Zone Action Plan which focusses on supporting the area’s clusters of fashion and creative manufacturing businesses. I also awarded £500,000 of skills funding to Haringey’s Zone in dedicated sector skills funding to deliver their ‘N17: Creative Callings’ project which is delivering specialist skills training, career development and business support to local residents in the Zone, 50 per cent of whom are from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.
My Culture at Risk office has supported 5 cases in Enfield and 48 in Haringey since March 2020. In Enfield, my Culture at Risk Business Support Fund awarded £160,000 in grants to businesses that were at immediate risk of closure. This included Building Bloqs artist’s workspace in Enfield and 10 organisations in Haringey including The Post Bar grassroots music venue and Arthouse Crouch End cinema.
My London Borough of Culture programme has also awarded a £200,000 Cultural Impact Award to deliver activities for communities in Haringey. My Make London fund is supporting 2 projects in Haringey including Alexandra Palace Art Trail 2021 (£5,000) and Art for Haringey (£12,000), and three projects in Enfield; Bourne Under Cover (£5,000), Bring trees to Palmers Green High Street (£4,065) and Community Mural for Pymmes Park (£4,915). My Culture Seeds grants also supported cultural activities for local people in both boroughs, with four grants totalling £18,314 in Enfield and 18 totalling £65,590 in Haringey.

Protected Cycle Lanes (3)

Tony Devenish: How many kilometres of protected cycle lane were in place in London by 1st March 2021?

The Mayor: In February 2020, I announced that I had met my election pledge to triple the amount of protected cycling space in London - from 50 kilometres in 2016 to 162 kilometres in 2020.Further details are provided here: https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/mayor-triples-protected-cycle-space-in-london.
More than 100km of new or upgraded cycle routes have been delivered or are under construction since the start of the pandemic, a mixture of fully protected routes, semi-segregation and routes on quiet back streets. That means during my first term, I have delivered260km of high-quality safe cycle routes. Because of changes to delivery mechanisms during the pandemic, and because these are temporary schemes, Transport for London has not tracked the exact lengths of protected space in the same way.

Crossrail Trial Running

Alison Moore: When will you enter the Trial Running phase of the Crossrail project?

The Mayor: Trial Running is vital to enabling the railway to transition to passenger service, and Crossrail is focused on doing everything it can to reach this critical milestone safely and as quickly as possible. Trial Running involves multiple trains operating in the central operating section to demonstrate the railway is capable of reliably meeting capacity and other requirements, whilst final works to the stations are completed.
The project has entered the final countdown for entry into Trial Running, with progress being made in completing the outstanding works. It is currently anticipated that the project will enter Trial Running in the next couple of months.

GLA Employees Receiving Total Remunerations of £100,000+ per year

Susan Hall: How many employees within the GLA group have received total remunerations of £100,000 per year since May 2016? Please give a breakdown by organisation and amount.

The Mayor: The number of employees within the GLA Group who have received a total remuneration, including additional payments and severance payments, of £100,000 or more per year since May 2016 is below. This includes employees who earned a base salary of less than £100,000 per year, but with additional payments, including overtime or one-off voluntary severance payments, received a total remuneration above £100,000:
GLA
May 2016 to April 2017: 26
May 2017 to April 2018: 31
May 2018 to April 2019: 35
May 2019 to April 2020: 31
LFB
May 2016 to April 2017: 8
May 2017 to April 2018: 9
May 2018 to April 2019: 11
May 2019 to April 2020: 11
LLDC
May 2016 to April 2017: 13
May 2017 to April 2018: 15
May 2018 to April 2019: 15
May 2019 to April 2020: 18
MOPAC
May 2016 to April 2017: 7
May 2017 to April 2018: 8
May 2018 to April 2019: 9
May 2019 to April 2020: 9
MPS
May 2016 to April 2017: 127
May 2017 to April 2018: 79
May 2018 to April 2019: 54
May 2019 to April 2020: 101
OPDC
May 2016 to April 2017: 2
May 2017 to April 2018: 3
May 2018 to April 2019: 2
May 2019 to April 2020: 3
TfL/Crossrail
May 2016 to April 2017: 515/61
May 2017 to April 2018: 564/53
May 2018 to April 2019: 468/47
May 2019 to April 2020: 521/36

TfL’s Failure to Publish Timely Bus Safety Data

Keith Prince: 1 February marked the fifth anniversary of TfL’s ‘world’ leading Bus Safety Programme launched by London’s previous Mayor. One of the key features of this programme was TfL’s commitment to publishing the number of people killed or seriously injured in bus safety incidents each quarter. In 2019, TfL failed to publish any data after March 2019 (Q1) until August 2020 and in 2020, June 2020’s (Q2) data has just been published. Will you commit TfL to publish its Quarterly Bus Safety Data within 30 days of the previous Quarter’s end?

The Mayor: TfL’s safety performance is analysed and considered each quarter in the published Safety, Health & Environment Quarterly Report. This report includes the number of people killed or seriously injured in bus safety incidents each quarter (currently available up to the 12th December 2020).
With regards to detailed Bus Safety data, I understand that the delays in publication have largely been due to resource constraints, particularly during 2020 when Transport for London (TfL) quite correctly prioritised its response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Unfortunately, the compilation of this data has historically been a resource-intensive task, but TfL is examining ways in which the process can be simplified, while retaining the appropriate level of detail. These changes, which TfL will complete in the coming months, will address this matter.

2nd round of Mayor’s Skills for Londoners’ Capital Fund (1)

Susan Hall: Are you able to demonstrate that 20,000 new learners have benefited from the £57.6m of improvements to training facilities & equipment, as part of the second round of your Mayor’s Skills for Londoners’ Capital Fund, launched in 2019?

The Mayor: My £57.6m Skills for Londoners Capital Fund Round 2 is made up of 17 projects, of which 5 have completed the physical build or equipment purchase.
Colleges in London have been deeply impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and many have lost significant time in their programmes. But all funded projects are now progressing well with many on site.
Two projects completed a year ago and 3 completed recently therefore outputs for these 5 projects continue to be realised. Projects are contractually required to report on outputs 6 months after completion and then 3 and 5 years after completion. By the end of January 2021, 3,215 additional new learners from 3 projects have benefited from this funding so far.

Chalfont and Latimer signal passed at danger

Caroline Pidgeon: TfL’s Safety, Sustainability and Human Resources Panel on the 10 February 2021 reported on the incident on the 21 June 2020 where a Chiltern Rail passenger train passed a signal on the Metropolitan line at danger. Please state when TfL will publish its review into its interfaces and protocols.

The Mayor: Following this incident, Transport for London (TfL) commissioned an internal review to consider its approach where London Underground (LU) operates on Network Rail Infrastructure and where other train and freight operating companies operate on LU infrastructure.
The purpose of the review was to ensure TfL has a clear understanding of the safety risks associated with these interfaces and how these risks are currently managed, and to identify recommendations, where required, for managing risks better and for ensuring there is a clear framework for managing interface risks. The report has been drafted and recommendations are being finalised. TfL expects to complete this review by the end of April. While internal reviews of this nature are not normally published, TfL will discuss any relevant recommendations with stakeholders as appropriate.

Creating Employment Opportunities

Shaun Bailey: How many employment opportunities have you created as a direct result of your employment schemes? Please give a breakdown by scheme, year and the amount of funding committed to each scheme.

The Mayor: The figures beloware estimates of jobs that can be directly attributed to listed Mayoral schemes and initiatives by scheme and year.
You have asked for the funding committed to each job creation scheme. In these schemes job creation is only one outcome of programme funding and therefore it is not possible to disaggregate the costs of the job creation schemes.
The programmes are likely to have a wider impact on job creation, such as through putting in place infrastructure and other foundational arrangements that encourage new businesses to be established and enable existing business to grow.
There are also programmes that support the Mayor’s strategic objectives to promote the right conditions for good growth across the capital and the creation of jobs, not described here.
Programme
2016/17
2017/18
2018/19
2019/20
2020/21
TOTAL
London and Partners (1)
10,112
11,868
4,455
3,549
2,796
32,780
Film London
4185
5709
6527
12118
2016
30555
LEAP (2)
177 (3)
84
3720
2705
3946
10,632
ESF (4)
8877
ERDF (5)
-
-
-
-
3802
TfL Supplier Skills Programme Job Starts
875
911
1027
426
3239
Growing Places Fund(6)
9
382
2003
324
2718
TfL Supplier Skills Programme Apprenticeships
366
416
521
619
206
2128
Mayor's Regeneration Fund (7)
126
125
409
660
TfL Construction Skills Programme
258
280
538
High Streets Fund (8)
22
84
65
1
172
MedCity (9)
39
10
14
25
13 (6)
101
Royal Docks (10)
15 (7)

Supporting London’s musicians through recovery and post-Brexit (2)

Caroline Russell: In your answer to my question 2021/0483 you stated that on 3 February 2021 you wrote to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden MP, about the UK Government’s failure to come to a deal with the EU and the impact on the creative and cultural sectors. Could you publish this letter andshare any response you receive from the Secretary of State with me?

The Mayor: My letter to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden MP, is attached below.
I continue to support industry and cross-party calls for the UK and the EU to come back to the negotiating table with immediate effect to ensure a deal is done on touring. Without an agreement on smooth travel, international touring will be prohibitive, expensive and will result in fewer cultural exchanges and tours between the UK and EU. This will be devastating for the UK’s music industry and for talent development.
I am yet to receive a response from the Secretary of State.

The Mayor: 2021-1003 London Musicians 2 - Letter to SoS for DCMS.pdf

Crossrail 2

Alison Moore: At what point would the Transport & Works Act from Crossrail 2 need to be agreed for it to open at the same time as Phase 2a of High Speed 2 in 2035-2040?

The Mayor: The planning work for Crossrail 2 to date had assumed a Hybrid Bill as the preferred consent route, however this was not confirmed with Government. Our planning assumed a period of 2.5 years between Bill submission and Royal Assent. Timelines for the construction and the opening of the railway would depend on the final scope of the scheme and the agreed delivery strategy.
The opening of HS2 Phase 2b (rather than 2a) is the point at which we anticipate demand at Euston will increase significantly. However, the level of demand could be further impacted by potential future changes to travel patterns as a long-term effect of the pandemic.
Due to the knock-on financial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and as agreed with Government in the October 2020 funding agreement, a commitment was made to refresh the Crossrail 2 Safeguarding Directions but to pause work on development of the scheme.
It is highly likely that Crossrail 2 will still be needed in future to support London’s growth and Transport for London (TfL) has previously demonstrated the case for the scheme.

Crossrail 2

Leonie Cooper: Can the Mayor update me on the current situation with regard to Crossrail 2?

The Mayor: The coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on Transport for London’s (TfL) network and finances. TfL is working with the Government on a longer-term sustainable funding model and as part of that work has been reviewing the investment programme that is crucial for London’s recovery. In the funding agreement that was secured with Government in October 2020, a commitment was made in relation to Crossrail 2 that TfL “prioritises safeguarding activity and brings an orderly end to consultancy work as soon as possible. The Department for Transport (DfT) will support such safeguarding activity for this project as required.”
As such, work to seek consent for Crossrail 2 has been paused. The Crossrail 2 team is working closely with the DfT on a timetable for a refresh of the Crossrail 2 safeguarding directions to protect the scheme’s latest proposed design from future conflicting development.
It is highly likely that Crossrail 2 will still be needed in future to support London’s growth and TfL has previously demonstrated the case for the scheme.

Responding to the Fuel Poverty Strategy

Leonie Cooper: How will your London Fuel Poverty Partnership be responding to the proposals set out in the Government's recently published Fuel Poverty Strategy for England, “Sustainable Warmth; Protecting Vulnerable Households in England”?

The Mayor: The Fuel Poverty Strategy for England aims to improve the energy efficiency of homes across England but has been undermined by the Government’s recent withdrawal of the Greener Homes Grant. I will be working with stakeholders such as Fuel Poverty Partnership members to address the proposals made in the strategy.
This will include using the change in the definition of fuel poverty in England to review eligibility for my Warmer Homes scheme and other fuel poverty programmes. This is in order to have the biggest impact on fuel poverty whilst delivering a net zero London. The new measure places London as the third-worst region in England for fuel poverty and makes it clear that fuel poverty is now principally an urban problem so I will continue to work with partners to address it.
To this end, I will also work with partners to ensure that London secures at least its fair share of the increased Energy Company Obligation (at least £130m out of £1bn annually) and to ensure that London does not miss out on the Home Upgrade Grant funding announced for homes not connected to the gas mains. I will continue to work with health and social care partners to deliver on the Strategy’s Vulnerability principle in order that those at greatest health risk are reached and supported. My London Building Stock Model will also be useful in targeting fuel poverty interventions better.

Future Green Homes Programmes (2)

Leonie Cooper: Given the significant failure of the Green Homes Grant, have you asked the Government to devolve a London element of any future Green Homes Grant budget to the GLA?

The Mayor: In February, I wrote to Energy Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan o convey my concerns over the failure of the Green Homes Grant voucher scheme and to ask the Government to devolve Green Homes Grant funding to me in London. This would speed up delivery, given our extensive and successful experience of running our own retrofit schemes and in building the supply chain. This is in line with my position that all domestic energy efficiency funding be devolved to London.

Future Green Homes Programmes (1)

Leonie Cooper: Following the significant failure of the Government to support improving residential energy efficiency through the £1.5bn Green Homes Grant, where it is likely only 20 percent of this budget will be spent, what communication have you had with the Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy (BEIS) about how they plan to deal with 80 percent underspend?

The Mayor: I am delighted to have helped secure more than £160million for retrofit for London from Government schemes. I too am concerned that Government plans to withdraw Green Homes Grant funding if it is not spent quickly enough. With only 20,000 vouchers of the 600,000 target issued four months in, it would take over 10 years to spend the budget at the current rate.
As noted in MQ1032, I wrote to the Government last month, before the Budget, to express my concerns over the failure of the voucher scheme and to ask the Government to devolve Green Homes Grant funding to me and other city leaders. I appreciate that the funds should be spent quickly to help ensure a green recovery but the Government must recognise that there are limits on how quickly supply chains can scale up and learn the lesson that sustained funding and policy certainty is necessary to meet net-zero and create sustainable green jobs.

TfL Properties and Energy Efficiency (2)

Leonie Cooper: What is the average Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating for buildings that Transport for London current rents out? Do these buildings comply with national regulations?

The Mayor: Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings are assessed at specific stages in the property lifecycle with many being assessed only when a property becomes vacant. Transport for London (TfL) has so far been able to measure EPC ratings on 718 commercial properties across its estate and a small number of residential properties.
TfL has an average score of 92.65 on the properties it has assessed, equating to a ‘D’ rating. A programme is currently being developed to review what investment is required to improve this rating in line with Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) regulations.
All properties are managed in line with national regulations. TfL has improvement works planned for the handful of residential properties that have a rating of E or lower. This work was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic but is now scheduled to take place in the next few months.

TfL Properties and Energy Efficiency (1)

Leonie Cooper: How are Transport for London encouraging energy efficiency improvements in the 2,700 commercial (non-TfL-occupied) properties on their estate?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has committed to becoming net zero on its commercial estate by 2030. Critical to that success will be the partnership TfL has with its tenants, the vast majority of whom are Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. TfL has developed a programme of work related to tenant education and sustainability, which includes:

Green Finance Institute Update

Leonie Cooper: What proposals have come out of the work you have commissioned the Green Finance Institute to undertake, toexplore opportunities to maximise the flow of private capital into London’s environmental priorities?

The Mayor: To support London’s ability to get to net-zero by 2030 and support the London Recovery Board’s ambitions, London will need billions of pounds of private sector investment over the next decade.
I am working with the Green Finance Institute (GFI) to explore how we can help do that. The GFI initially reviewed initiatives and approaches from the UK and internationally and then consulted with a wide range of stakeholders to understand what the barriers are to financing climate related projects and what type of financing structures the private sector thought would increase the level of its investment. The GFI are now producing an interim report with recommendations for the Mayor to consider. This will look at the structure that any financing facility should take, how it could be capitalised to maximise the use of public sector funding and, importantly, how it could support a rapid increase in the scale of the pipeline of bankable projects that are seeking finance.
The government’s announcement around the UK Investment Bank was an encouraging development nationally. It will be important to ensure that it aligns with any structure that is being proposed here in London to accelerate the flow of private sector finance and support the transition to a low carbon circular economy.

TfL net zero carbon pathway

Leonie Cooper: Has Transport for London published itsnet zero carbon pathway study? Is this publicly available?

The Mayor: Yes, Transport for London (TfL) has published its initial net zero carbon pathway on the Better Buildings Partnership’s climate change commitment website. This is publicly available here:
https://www.betterbuildingspartnership.co.uk/sites/default/files/TfL_CD_NetZeroPathway.pdf
TfL is now working on the various strategies outlined in this pathway study and will report on its progress through annual updates to the document.

Protected Cycle Lanes (4)

Tony Devenish: Including the date of completion, the names of the roads covered and the total distance of each cycle lane, please provide a table showing all the protected cycle lanes in London on 1st March 2021.

The Mayor: In February 2020, I announced that I had met my election pledge to triple the amount of protected cycling space in London - from 50 kilometres in 2016 to 162 kilometres in 2020. Further details are provided here: https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/mayor-triples-protected-cycle-space-in-london. A breakdown by scheme and the date opened (where available) is included in Table 1 below. And TfL’s online cycle map will enable you to see the roads covered by these cycle facilities.
More than 100km of new or upgraded cycle routes have been delivered or are under construction since the start of the pandemic, a mixture of fully protected routes, semi-segregation and routes on quiet back streets. That means during my first term, I have delivered260km of high-quality safe cycle routes. Because of changes to delivery mechanisms during the pandemic, and because these are temporary schemes, Transport for London has not tracked the exact lengths of protected space in the same way.

Table 1 Breakdown of protected cycle lane kilometres by scheme in London (up to 2020): Name of scheme
Date opened*
Kilometres of protected cycle lane
CS1
Apr-16
1.6
CS2 (inc upgrade)
May-16
6.5
CS2X
Nov-13
3.0
CS3
Jul-11
20.0
CSEW (Tower Hill to Parliament Sq)
May-16
9.6
CS5
Nov-15
2.8
CS6 Phase 1
May-16
4.8
CS7
Jul-10
1.5
CS8
Jul-11
1.3
Q1 Edward Street
Jun-16
0.8
Q1 Tabbard Street
Jun-16
0.1
Colliers Wood
Feb-15
0.1
Elephant & Castle
2015/16
0.7
CSEW (Parliament Sq to Lancaster Gate)
Dec-17
10.0
CS6 Phase 2
Sep-18
1.5
CSEW (North Carriage Drive)
Jun-19
1.5
CS10 Section 1 (Acton to Wood Lane)
Mar-20
3.4
CS4 Tower Bridge to Greenwich (excluding Lower Road)
-
9.6
CS9 East Between Olympia to Brentford
-
11.0
A105 Green Lanes, Enfield
Mar-18
10.0
NW.6a St Marks Hill Connectivity, Kingston
Oct-17
1.0
NW.3a Connectivity to Portsmouth Road, Kingston
Aug-18
0.6
Forest Road Cycle Route - A, Waltham Forest
May-18
1.4
Lea Bridge Road: Section B, Waltham Forest
Feb-18
2.2
Lea Bridge Road: Section C, Waltham Forest
Nov-18
1.6
Lea Bridge Road: Section F, Waltham Forest
Nov-18
0.6
Lea Bridge Road: Junction 1, Waltham Forest
Apr-19
0.4
Lea Bridge Road: Junction 2, Waltham Forest
Jul-18
0.4
Leyton - Blackhorse Cycle Route: Section A, Waltham Forest - Forest Road
Apr-18
0.5
LM.1 Kingston Station Plaza, Kingston
Mar-18
0.2
Lea bridge Road Section D
-
0.6
Lea bridge Road Section E
-
0.4
Lea bridge Road Section G
-
1.4
Lea bridge Road Section H
-
0.0
Lea bridge Road Junction 3
-
0.5
Lea bridge Road Junction 4
-
0.8
Whipps Cross roundabout
-
0.2
Walthamstow Gryatory
-
1.2
Kingston Hill / Kingston Vale
-
2.6
Wheatfield Way
-
1.5
A1010A1010 North Hertford Road: Freezy Water to Ponders End
-
7.4
Temple Mills
-
1.0
A1010 South
-
3.6
Royal College Street - northern extension, Camden
Oct-16
1.3
A41/Boundary Road, Westminster
-
0.1
West Smithfield and Barbican, City of London
Jul-05
0.8
Wood Street
Jul-05
0.8
Nicholson street / Chancel street / Dolben street, Southwark
Jul-05
0.0
Honour Lea Avenue / Temple Mills Lane, Newham
-
0.1
Capel Rd / Forest Drive, Newham
-
0.7
Woodford Rd / Capel Rd, Newham
-
0.0
Dulwich Village junction, Southwark
-
0.0
Union St east, Southwark
Apr-18
0.4
Albany Road / Portland Street junction, Southwark
-
0.1
Bath Street to Finsbury Square, Islington
Oct-18
0.5
Midland Road
May-19
1.5
Nuttal Street
May-19
0.1
Rodney Place / Road, Southwark
-
0.6
Southwark to Canada Water
-
0.2
Whipps Cross to Waterworks
-
2.8
Markhouse South Grove Church to LBR
-
2.2
Hoe St
-
0.6
Brunswick Square
-
0.1
Baylis Road
-
0.7
Queensbridge Road
-
0.8
Westminster Bridge South
Nov-17
1.2
Highbury Corner
Jan-20
1.2
Gower Street (WEP)
May-20
2.2
Old Street
May-20
1.0
Stratford Gyratory
Feb-19
2.4
Hounslow Boston Manor Road
-
2.4
Hayes Town Centre (Phase 1)
Early 2018
1.4
Bexleyheath Town Centre Phase 2
May-17
1.5
Beddington Gateways
-
4.0
*Date opened is not available for all schemes
Total
162

Supporting Croydon’s Community (7)

Susan Hall: Since the tragic Sandilands tram crash in 2016 and your £750,000 of funding in 2018 to support the affected communities, has TfL worked proactively with all of those affected & their legal representatives, thereby progressing their civil claims speedily? How many civil claims were received by TfL and have all of them now been settled?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has worked proactively to support the insurers and claims handlers to respond to claims and to enable claimants’ legal representatives to progress their claims speedily. TfL’s approach has been to be open to settlement proposals and to ensure that fair settlements are reached.
There were 96 separate claims received, 84 of which have been settled. As at 31 January 2021, the amount paid in compensation, legal fees, interim payments, funeral expenses, medical, counselling and therapeutic treatments is £8,689,409.

CW9 (1)

Tony Devenish: What work has TfL done and is doing to thoroughly evaluate demand for CS9/CW9 and the implications of implementing it, with the benefit of data from temporary pandemic traffic measures and what has now been built on Chiswick High Road?

The Mayor: Since the completion of the temporary Cycleway 9 along Chiswick High Road, Transport for London (TfL) has been undertaking a monitoring exercise to understand the effects of the changes. TfL is capturing data to understand cycle flows, traffic flows and journey times, bus journey times and casualties. Alongside the transport data, TfL is collecting a range of customer and stakeholder feedback.

CW9 (2)

Tony Devenish: In the light of the delays on Chiswick High Road, what impact assessment has been done or is being done on the delay to emergency vehicles? Please identify the impact and provide data on each type of emergency service.

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has engaged extensively with the emergency services on the introduction of temporary protected cycle tracks along Chiswick High Road. TfL has carefully designed the cycle tracks so that they are wide enough to accommodate emergency vehicles, including ambulances and fire appliances. Similar cycle tracks in Westminster, Vauxhall and Southwark are used effectively by emergency services during an emergency to bypass any queuing traffic.
TfL is continuing to monitor the impacts of the cycle tracks on all road users. The data cannot specifically identify emergency vehicles, so TfL is actively seeking direct feedback from each of the emergency services about any operational impacts resulting from changes to the road network. No concerns have been raised about this location.

Protected Cycle Lanes (1)

Tony Devenish: How many kilometres of protected cycle lane were in place in London on 1st May 2016?

The Mayor: In February 2020, I announced that I had met my election pledge to triple the amount of protected cycling space in London from 50 kilometres in 2016.
Further details are provided here: https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/mayor-triples-protected-cycle-space-in-london.

Protected Cycle Lanes (2)

Tony Devenish: How many kilometres of protected cycle lane were completed in London after 1st May 2016 that had been initiated before that date?

The Mayor: Please see my answer to Mayor’s Question 2021/1334, which includes a breakdown of kilometres of protected cycle lane delivered scheme by scheme up to February 2020, including date opened where available.
It is not possible to pinpoint the exact start date of all of these schemes because the process by which cycling schemes have been initiated and developed has changed significantly over time. Through the development of any scheme, the scope can change, shaped by new policies and current operational conditions, to result in a final scheme that is different to the one imagined at inception.

Night Time Flights

Caroline Pidgeon: Did you respond to the recent Department for Transport consultation to maintain the existing night flight restrictions for the designated airports (Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted) from 2022 to 2024 and if so, please publish your submission?

The Mayor: I can confirm that a formal submission was made on my behalf to the Government’s consultation on night flight restrictions at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted by Transport for London (TfL).
The response was submitted by the consultation deadline of 3 March and has since been published on the TfL website (https://content.tfl.gov.uk/mayoral-response-to-night-flights-consultation-210302.pdf).

MOPAC Housing Commitment

Murad Qureshi: When do you think MOPAC will deliver the 2,500 promised, pre-COVID targets for homes on Met sites?

The Mayor: In 2018 MOPAC reviewed its landholdings and anticipated bringing forward sites which had the potential to deliver up to 2,500 homes between 2018-2022. This was based on an initial high-level set of information and assumed purchasers would in most instances progress an element of residential development.
In the light of the Government announcement for additional police officers an Estates Strategy for 2020 – 2025 is being drafted. Sites which were known to be surplus have been disposed of and further surplus sites will come forward for disposal. It is anticipated that the disposal programme will lead to the additional homes being delivered over that Estate Strategy period. Delivery is dependent on planning permission being granted for the homes by the relevant planning authority. Pipeline applications include approximately 730 homes at Colindale and 500 homes on the site of former Paddington Green Police Station.

Carbon neutrality

Shaun Bailey: How much will it cost to make London Carbon Neutral by 2030?

The Mayor: My Zero Carbon London 1.5 Compatible Plan estimates the infrastructure costs are £61bn to deliver net zero by 2050. Mayoral Strategies already include a number of policies and programmes working to achieve faster action by 2030 including lobbying asks of government.
The Committee on Climate Change estimates the annualised resource cost of net zero is now less than 1% of GDP a year to 2050. Investing now will unlock substantial savings in carbon and operating costs much earlier, as cleaner, more-efficient technologies replace their fossil fuelled predecessors.
With the powers at my disposal I have made it clear that I can deliver around half the actions needed to meet a net zero target. However, the Government is responsible for the other 50%.
A green recovery is the perfect opportunity for the government to accelerate its own efforts while creating economic growth and job opportunities. However, sadly the UK’s green stimulus package falls well short of other leading nations such as Germany and France.

Police location

Shaun Bailey: How many Met police officers live within the Greater London area, and how many live outside of London?

The Mayor: At the start of March 2021 approximately half of police constables lived within the London area.At the start of March 2021 approximately half of police constables lived within the London area.

Precepts (2)

Shaun Bailey: Is the GLA precept increase of 9.5% the highest in England?

The Mayor: The Government has not yet published statistics on council tax levels set by authorities in England for 2021-2022; these are expected to be published on 25 March 2021. Initial research by officers suggests the GLA’s increase appears to be the highest in percentage terms increase of any major local authority, but this cannot be confirmed until the data is published.
It is important to note that authorities with social care responsibilities were able to increase council tax by up to 4.99% in 2021-22 without triggering a referendum. In general, if these authorities exercised this flexibility it would lead to a higher increase in cash terms than that generated by the GLA’s 9.5% increase. For example, if this flexibility were used by councils in London, 31 out of the 33 billing authorities would be able to increase their council tax charge by more in cash terms than the £31.59 Band D increase for the GLA precept.

Precepts (1)

Shaun Bailey: How does the GLA precept increase of 9.5% compare with the increase by councils and Mayors across the country?

The Mayor: Exceptionally, the Government set a higher referendum threshold for the GLA for 2021-22, permitting an overall increase of 9.5%, specifically to include support towards the costs of travel concessions in London. The GLA is unique in that it is the only council tax precept that provides funding for police, fire and rescue, transport and other Mayoral services; this range of services makes it difficult to compare with other types of authority in England.
For 2021-22, the referendum threshold for authorities with social care responsibilities is 5%, for Police and Crime Commissioners the maximum increase permitted is a £15 Band D increase and the referendum threshold for other types of local authorities (including fire authorities) is 2% The Government did not limit council tax increases for Combined Authority Mayors, however, none increased their share of council tax by more than the GLA’s increase. Please also see response to MQ 2021/1233.

RPI+1% Fare Rises

Murad Qureshi: Is it sustainable, given the effect of Covid-19 on travel patterns, for the Government to keep pressing ahead with above inflation fare rises every year?

The Mayor: Affordable public transport will be critical to ensuring that London’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic is not car-led, so that every Londoner can enjoy the benefits of clean air and reduced congestion while continuing to reduce our carbon emissions. Very high fares’ increases would jeopardise this and risk an unsustainable car-led recovery.
The coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated that Transport for London’s disproportionate reliance on fares income to fund its vital operations is unsustainable and a more diverse mix of revenue streams, as is prevalent in other cities, would allow fares to be kept affordable while also building resilience to challenges such as the coronavirus pandemic.

Step free access

Caroline Pidgeon: Further to the letter, dated the 4 March 2021, sent to the Transport Committee by the Deputy Mayor for Transport, on the subject of the delivery of capital projects and programmes listed in the 2016 Transport for London (TfL) Business Plan, please list by name the 11 London Underground stations that are expected to become step free by the end of 2022. Please also provide the estimated completion dates between now and the end of 2022.

The Mayor: Further to the letter, dated the 4 March 2021, sent to the Transport Committee by the Deputy Mayor for Transport, on the subject of the delivery of capital projects and programmes listed in the 2016 Transport for London (TfL) Business Plan, please list by name the 11 London Underground stations that are expected to become step free by the end of 2022. Please also provide the estimated completion dates between now and the end of 2022.
Written response from the Mayor
Work at the following stations is expected to be completed by the end of 2021:
Work at the following stations is expected to be completed by the end of 2022:

West Hampstead Overground Station

Andrew Dismore: When planning permission was granted for the improvement of West Hampstead Overground station, the community in NW6 was looking forward to the greater space this would afford pedestrians on the extremely busy and constrained West End Lane bridge. TfL have since said that demolition of the former ticket office would be too costly, but the benefit for this busy interchange and important neighbourhood would be immense. West Hampstead residents regularly report having to step into the congested road, putting all road users at risk including pedestrians themselves and people cycling. Please can TfL agree to a meeting with TfL senior officers, Camden councillors and officers to discuss this further and to fully factor in the great benefit for pedestrians' and road users' safety the extra space would confer?

The Mayor: In 2017, after planning permission had been granted, Transport for London (TfL) carried out further survey work that identified significant safety and technical challenges associated with the demolition of the old station building.Demolishing the building would have a considerable impact on both the road and rail networks and would require the relocation of major utilities in the area, causing further disruption.
Other options have also been considered, including converting the building into a ‘colonnade’ to provide additional space for pedestrians.However, engagement showed there was no clear local support for a colonnade walk and so this has not been taken forward.
The building remains open to the public, in addition to the facilities provided in the new station building. TfL is considering commercial options for the use of the building and is also looking into several bus improvements in the area to help the safety of road users, including people walking and cycling. I understand that TfL is in the process of setting up a meeting with officers from the London Borough of Camden to discuss these various options and to agree on what feasible options could be taken forward.TfL will also ensure that local councillors are kept informed of these discussions.

Motorcycles (1)

Keith Prince: I’m very grateful to the Mayor for facilitating regular meetings with his team for an on-going dialogue about motorcycle safety. Will he accept the thanks of the Motorcycle Action Group and myself for these regular, bi-monthly meetings, which save lives and will he explore modal shift to motorcycles to reduce pollution and congestion?

The Mayor: I am grateful for your and the Motorcycle Action Group’s collaboration in promoting motorcycle safety. It is deeply concerning that the rate of KSIs for people riding motorcycles is the highest of any group of road users, and that the risk of a motorcycle being involved in a collision resulting in a fatal or serious injury to another road user, is higher than any other vehicle. The recently launched Direct Vision Standard and the restart of free face-to-face motorcycle training on 29 March are two of the ways in which I am reducing road danger for motorcyclists.
However, I will not actively promote mode shift to motorcycles. At the heart of my transport strategy is an aim for 80 per cent of trips in London to be made by walking, cycling or public transport. A mode shift from car to motorcycle would produce very limited, if any, benefits for congestion and emissions for the reasons stated in my response to MQ 2021/1344.

Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm

Gareth Bacon: Further to question 2021/0510, who will sit on the Partners Board and Boroughs Working Group supporting the Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm?

The Mayor: Current Partners Board members on the Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm are listed below and membership will continue to evolve as the work of the Commission develops.
ActionSpace
Art Fund
Arts Council England
Black Cultural Archives
English Heritage
Historic England
Museum of London
National Heritage Lottery Fund
Proud Places
Paradigm Network
Queer Britain
Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts)
Shape Arts
Further information on these partner organisations can be found on the London.gov.uk website:https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/arts-and-culture/commission-diversity-public-realm#acc-i-62620
The Borough Working Group is open to representatives of all London boroughs and includes a range of cross-party officers and elected Councillors.

Culture & Creative Industry

Navin Shah: This sector has taken a major blow during the pandemic crisis. For some it is fatal. However, what steps are you taking to revive and support this sector which makes a major contribution to London’s economy and is a flagship of our diversity and heritage?

The Mayor: During the COVID-19 crisis, my £2.3m Culture at Risk Business Support Fund has supported over 301 businesses and 11,500 artists. My expanded Culture at Risk Office has supported over 700 businesses since March 2020 compared to 350 in the previous 4 years. I have announced a £5m fund to help central London’s culture, heritage organisations and night time economy reopen safely and I have called on Government to match this.
I continue to fund my Creative Economy Growth Programme delivering inward investment, sales and exports, creating thousands of jobs and increasing workforce diversity. I have launched a £250,000 programme to support improved working conditions for creative freelancers.
I am funding ambitious new culture infrastructure including East Bank, which will create 2,500 jobs, and the new Museum of London. I have also unlocked £8m Government funding for two London film studios, 3 Mills in Newham and Eastbrook Studios in Dagenham, as part of the Thames Estuary Production Corridor.

Borough of Culture

Navin Shah: What are your plans to get the Borough of Culture Scheme back on track after it was postponed last year?

The Mayor: After Waltham Forest and Brent’s successful London Borough of Culture programmes in 2019 and 2020 respectively, Lewisham and Croydon are on track to deliver their ambitious London Borough of Culture programmes in 2022 and 2023. Brent 2020 was adapted during COVID-19 to unite communities online and through a critically acclaimed public art programme in the libraries, streets and public spaces of the borough. It was successfully delivered in collaboration with over 1000 artists and creative organisations, along with hundreds of volunteers, young leaders, schools and community organisations.
My Culture and Creative Industries Unit is helping Lewisham and Croydon to prepare with comprehensive support including community engagement workshops, funders roundtables and developing partnership opportunities for young people, health and wellbeing and the environment. Lewisham has now appointed The Albany arts centre as the key delivery partner for London Borough of Culture. I am embedding Liberty, my flagship festival for D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists, into both borough programmes. An evaluation framework has been commissioned in the context of London’s recovery, with a focus on social outcomes.

COVID Restrictions Relaxation

Navin Shah: How can small pubs and restaurants, who do not have outside spaces and are unable to open on 12th April, be supported?

The Mayor: I am pleased that as some restrictions are lifted on 12th April, we will see part of London’s hospitality businesses reopen by serving customers outside. Unfortunately, many businesses will not be able to open as they do not have a viable outdoor space in which to operate.
I support the government’s extension of the pavement licence provisions of the Business and Planning Act for another 12 months. In addition, takeaway alcohol will be allowed until September. I continue to encourage boroughs to take a pragmatic approach to supporting local hospitality businesses by enabling them to maximise the opportunities for outdoor operation, and by making space available where it is safe and viable to do so.
It is imperative that London’s hospitality sector continues to receive the financial support from Government it needs, particularly if the re-opening roadmap slips in any way.

Benefits of Motorcycles to London

Keith Prince: Are you aware that research shows that motorcycles reduce congestion and emissions?

The Mayor: It is difficult to respond to this specifically without further detail of the research findings you mention. Can you supply this to the City Planning team at Transport for London and they will review this?
The congestion benefits of motorcycles are limited by the fact that such vehicles fully ‘occupy the lane’ and, when moving require similar braking distance space around them to a car. In addition, it is clear that motorbikes produce greater emissions per person / km travelled than walking, cycling or using rail, Tube or Euro 6 bus services.

Crossrail Delays

Keith Prince: How confident are you that there will be no further delays to Crossrail?

The Mayor: Delivery of the Elizabeth line is now in its complex final stages with work focussed on the remaining construction, systems integration and operational testing of the railway. Good progress is being made across the project and it is still anticipated that the central section will open for passenger service in the first half of 2022.

Heathrow Free Travel Zone (1)

Caroline Russell: The operator of Heathrow Airport has suspended the Heathrow Free Travel Zone and is withdrawing support for local public transport. This cut in funding from Heathrow to Transport for London (TfL) is effectively being absorbed in the Government support deal for TfL. Have you made representations to Heathrow Airport Limited or the Government about this issue, which risks a rise in local motor traffic?

The Mayor: I was disappointed by the decision by Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) to suspend the bulk of its support for public transport services, including the Heathrow Bus Free Travel Zone. As soon as Transport for London (TfL) and I became aware of HAL’s plan, our concerns were relayed, both verbally and in writing. On 3 December 2020, TfL’s Director of City Planning wrote to the HAL Surface Access Director citing concerns that these changes may encourage more staff to switch to making journeys to and from work by car.

Transport modal share in London after coronavirus (2)

Caroline Russell: Thank you for your answer to my question 2020/3302. Could you supply updated indicative estimates from Transport for London (TfL) for the split of journeys by mode of transport in London?

The Mayor: Provisional data for Q4 2020 (October to December) suggests a similar mode share to the previous quarter. Public transport mode share remained at 18 per cent, around half the pre-pandemic level of 36 per cent. Despite the lockdown that occurred during November, public transport usage was at its highest level since March during October and the first half of December. Private transport mode share remained higher than before the pandemic at 44 per cent. Walk and cycle mode shares remained high as Londoners undertook more local, short trips.

Benefits of Strategic Investment Fund (3)

Susan Hall: How has the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the sustainable growth of London’s economy, promoted by your £112m Strategic Investment Fund (SIF)?

The Mayor: As the most densely populated region of the UK, London has suffered major public health and economic impacts from the current pandemic. Like the rest of the UK economy, London has also witnessed a major recession in the course of 2020. The loss of GVA over the year is expected to exceed the 9.5% mark that was estimated as recently as December, as a result of further restrictions in November and December.
It cannot be taken for granted that just because London’s economy has bounced back quickly from previous recessions it will necessarily do so this time around in the absence of well targeted recovery policies and support.
London’s recovery will take time but the continuing impact of the SIF investments that I’ve made will support London’s return to sustainable and equitable growth.

Benefits of Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) (2)

Susan Hall: Has your £112m Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) contributed to the sustainable growth of London’s economy, thereby increasing London’s business rate income? Please demonstrate how.

The Mayor: The funding allocations from my Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) have supported a range of priorities for sustainable growth in London, including investment in opportunity areas, affordable housing, support for London’s small businesses and some key emerging growth sectors, such as green technology and culture and creative. Key objectives of the fund have been to invest in the increase of sustainable and successful commercial floorspace and to address the key risks facing businesses in London, including the affordability of housing.
The various SIF projects such as those for the new Northern Line ticket hall at Elephant & Castle, the Royal Docks enterprise zone, the upgrade of the southwestern exit to Stratford station which will improve links to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park including East Bank and the Canada Water project are helping to support wider regeneration programmes which will secure these sustainable growth objectives and facilitate an increase in business rates income over time.

Allocation of Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) (1)

Susan Hall: Further to your press release on 26/09/18 relating to your £112m Strategic Investment Fund (SIF), has all of the money been allocated? Please provide headline figures detailing where & when it was spent.

The Mayor: The allocations of both the 2018/19 and 2019/20 allocations are detailed below.
(£107m 2018/19 + £5m top-up; £73m 2019-20; total £185m)
Allocation
£ million
Commercial Development in London’s Opportunity Areas
Elephant and Castle Northern Line Ticket Hall
25.00
Canada Water
17.50
Royal Docks Enterprise Zone
13.70
Stratford Station
4.00
Delivery of London Plan Objectives for Affordable Housing Development
Build for London
10.00
Mayor’s Construction Academy and Construction Careers Campaign
3.20
Industrial Intensification Delivery Strategies
1.00
Support Local Economies and Small Businesses
Good Growth Fund – Intensifying London’s local economies
5.00
Micro and SME Business Support Programme
1.43
West End Good Growth Study
0.05
Broadband Connectivity – public sector buildings and other assets
11.00
Culture at risk fund
2.33
Support London’s Industrial Strategy
Centre for Cleantech Innovation
8.70
Workspace Investment: Second Floor Studios, Deptford and Studio Voltaire, Clapham
1.16
Creative Land Trust
0.15
East Bank project – placed in reserves in case needed by LLDC
80.9
The profile for SIF spend is forecast to see £56m spent by the end of 2020/21, plus a further £81m allocated to LLDC’s capital reserve for East bank (£137m in total). The remaining £33.8m of SIF is forecast to spend in 2021-22.

Economic Opportunities Study

Susan Hall: Which economic opportunities in London’s West End came to light, as a result of the economic opportunities study carried out - due to part of your £112m Strategic Investment Fund (SIF)? Please detail how the findings have been acted upon.

The Mayor: The West End Good Growth Study focussed on generating an evidence-based approach to optimising good growth in the West End. Built on partnership working and extensive stakeholder engagement, the report identified the four conditions for ongoing success; proactive strategy and stakeholder engagement, mix of uses, range of offer, and variety of high quality public spaces.
A broad range of economic opportunities were identified under these headings, including the changing profile of businesses in the West End, growing employment density in prime office locations, the experiential dimension of retail and overseas visitors as a key segment of the retail market. The report influenced the development of the Westminster City Plan (2019) and provided an evidence base for key policies. It helped inform wider partnership work, including the Oxford Street District plan. More recently the analysis has been used to inform my CAZ recovery study.

Allocation of Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) (5)

Susan Hall: Which community projects across London have been supported by a share of your £112m Strategic Investment Fund (SIF), allocated to your Good Growth Fund?

The Mayor: The following five projects received Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) via the Good Growth Fund:

Allocation of Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) (4)

Susan Hall: How much of your Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) was allocated to your Good Growth Fund?

The Mayor: As set out in my response to Gareth Bacon AM on 22 November 2018, I allocated £5m of the Strategic Investment Fund to projects via the Good Growth Fund.
MQ 2018/3400

Women's Night Safety Charter

Susan Hall: Since your injection of £44m funding in 2018 to make London a safer place for women & girls, how effective has the Women’s Night Safety Charter been in tackling unwanted sexual behaviour on London transport networks?

The Mayor: All women and girls should be able to feel safe on London’s streets at all times, and the Women’s Night Safety Charteris a tool to help achieve this. The Charter includes seven pledges that organisations can sign up to in order to help tackle violence against women and girls. Both Transport for London (TfL) and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) are signatories. They are working together with their partners in the British Transport Police (BTP) and my Night Czar to tackle unwanted sexual behaviour on London’s transport system and to improve the safety and confidence of women and girls travelling in the capital, both at night and during the day.
In 2019/20, research commissioned by TfL to track levels of experienced and witnessed unwanted sexual behaviour and reporting showed that two per cent of respondents had experienced it in the last six months. Of those who had experienced it, around half reported it to police or a member of staff.
Tackling unwanted sexual behaviour on public transport continues to be a priority for TfL and its policing partners. For example, TfL’s Project Guardian and the associated award-winning ‘Report it to stop it’ campaign worked to increase confidence in the reporting of sexual offences on public transport. This was done by making it easier for victims to report offences, enhancing police investigation and offender management and other targeted police activity, and improving support for victims via training and awareness-raising for transport staff and police officers.
This work has led the way for many transport authorities around the world. TfL is currently working with the Rail Delivery Group to develop a national approach for tackling unwanted sexual behaviour on the railnetwork.

Business Improvement Districts

Leonie Cooper: How many Business Improvement Districts does the Mayor currently work directly with?

The Mayor: Iwork with all of London Business Improvement Districts to support businesses and growth across London.
On 11 February the GLA hosted the 2021 annual BIDs summit. Over 90 people attended the summit, including representatives from 62 inner, outer and industrial BIDs.
Over the course of the last year we have worked hard to ensure that theviews ofBIDs,andthebusinesses theyrepresent,have been sought and reflected in developing London’s response to the pandemic.
In April2020my team surveyedall64 London Business Improvement Districts to better understand how COVID-19had impactedon the day to day running of their organisations and on the services theydeliver.The results of the surveyhighlighted how important it was thatadditionalfunding was madeavailableto help these essential bodies survive.I successfully lobbied theChancellorfor additional funding for BIDSand all London BIDs werereceivedextraresourcesvia their Local Authorities.

Missing Drugs From Policy Custody

Peter Whittle: How many instances of drugsgoing missing from the custody of the Metropolitan Police were there in the period 2016-2020? Could you please tabulate your response by year, drug, quantity and borough (or Borough Command Unit)?

The Mayor: The MPS seizes and secures approximately 600,000 pieces of evidence per year and take great pride and care in the management of all types of evidence. From 2016 to 2020 approximately 2.4m seizures of evidence have been recorded.
It is not possible to report on the quantity or accurately on type of drug, therefore the largest volume drug type has been used - ‘Missing Drugs-Herbal Substance’.
The definition of “missing” items is as follows:
(B)OCU/BCU
Central East
South West
Central North
Specialist Crime
Grand Total
Store Name
Stoke Newington
Bethnal Green
Twickenham
Islington
Drugs-Herbal Substance
Booked in by Year
GN
HT
TW
NI
SCD75NE
2016
12
14
1
1
28
2017
9
1
1
20
31
2018
2
11
27
40
2019
14
14
2020
0
Grand Total
23
26
15
48
1
113

Crossrail

David Kurten: What is the current anticipated opening date for Crossrail?

The Mayor: Crossrail Ltd is in the complex final stages of the delivery of the Elizabeth line. Work continues across the project at pace and it is still anticipated that the central section will open for passenger service in the first half of 2022

Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm (1)

Peter Whittle: I note that on 24 February 2021 Mr Toyin Agbetu - one of your Commissioners for Diversity in the Public Realm resigned, after his blog posts commenting on Jewish people were brought to City Hall’s attention byJewish News. One of his posts claimed there was an ‘immoral hierarchy of suffering’which had seen victims of the Holocaust‘served well by Nazi hunters’compared to African victims of the slave trade.Agbetu has also claimed that Jews played a leading role in the Atlantic slave trade.In 2007, he also heckled the Queen, during a service at Westminster Abbey to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade, shouting 'the British are the Nazis.' All of which, rather begs the question, why did you appoint him in the first place?

The Mayor: I set up the Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm to celebrate the rich diversity of London. It is vital that all panel members uphold the values of inclusion and tolerance that define our city.
All members of the Commission were recruited following best practice as set out in the Greater London Authority Protocol on Mayoral Appointments. An Independent Panel Member was present at all interviews and all appointees require a minimum of two references.
I have a zero-tolerance policy towards racism and prejudice in any form, and all allegations of this nature are taken extremely seriously. Toyin Agbetu has resigned from the Commission.
I am proud that the Commission brings together people with proven leadership ability and influence across a range of fields including the arts, public art, broadcast, built environment, architecture, community engagement and business.

Motorcycles (2)

Keith Prince: Does the Mayor agree that, for those who can use them, motorcycles are a good alternative to public transport for longer trips during the pandemic and would he encourage their use as the ultimate social distancing mode of transport for journeys that can't be walked or cycled?

The Mayor: The Government has announced a series of steps to ease the lockdown and I am doing everything I can to ensure London achieves a green recovery from the pandemic. The public transport system is cleaner than ever before and is ready and waiting for Londoners when they need to use it.
For this reason and those given in my responses to MQs 2021/1344 and 2021/1349 I will not be encouraging people to make such trips by motorcycle instead of public transport.

Electric push bikes (1)

Keith Prince: For the years 2018, 2019 and 2020, please provide the KSI rate per journeys made for electric push bikes, with comparisons to the other vehicle types?

The Mayor: It is not possible to provide KSI rate per journeys made for electric push bikes at this time as this data is not currently recorded.
Personal injury collision information is recorded by all police forces in accordance with the Department for Transport (DfT) STATS20 guidance. Currently, electrically assisted pedal cycles, as defined in the ‘Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles Regulations 1983’, are not regarded by the DfT as a separate vehicle type and are therefore recorded as pedal cycles only by the police. Therefore, it is currently not possible to accurately provide this information.
Transport for London is working with DfT and the police to improve the reporting of electric vehicles as part of the DfT STATS19 review. This includes a commitment by the DfT to future-proof the collection of collision data for new and emerging technology, including electric bicycles. See https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/962579/stats19-review.pdf
The number of journeys travelled by all bicycles, including electric bicycles, is reported in the Travel in London report at https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/travel-in-london-reports. It is currently not possible to disaggregate this data.

Electric push bikes (2)

Keith Prince: For the years 2018, 2019 and 2020, please provide the number of collisions per journeys made for electric push bikes, with comparisons to the other vehicle types?

The Mayor: Please see my response to question 2021/1356.

Airborne Particulates

Keith Prince: What effect do you believe airborne particulate matter has on human health?

The Mayor: Poor air quality remains the biggest environmental risk to the health of Londoners and my London Environment Strategy identifies particulate matter as one of two air pollutants of concern.
The World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledges that current evidence suggests no safe level for fine particulate matter (PM2.5). However, the WHO has set a guideline limit which reflects the level at which increased mortality from exposure to PM2.5 is likely. The current legal limit for PM2.5 is more than twice the WHO guideline limit.
Based on current evidence, PM2.5 is considered by the scientific and health communities. including the WHO and the UK Government’s Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution (COMEAP), to be the air pollutant which has the greatest impact on human health. Both short and long-term exposure to PM2.5 increase the risk of mortality from lung and heart diseases as well as increased hospital admissions. COMEAP estimates exposure to PM2.5 attributes to 29,000 premature deaths in the UK every year.
The draft Environment Bill mandates the setting of two air quality targets, including one for PM2.5. However, the Bill only requires these targets to be set by October 2022 and the targets themselves may not need to be achieved for 15 years or more. For the health of Londoners I am advocating Government to bring back the Environment Bill urgently and make the WHO PM2.5 guidelines legally-binding.

Supporting London’s musicians through recovery and post-Brexit (1)

Caroline Russell: At the London Assembly Plenary on Thursday 4 March 2021, we heard from Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, Justine Simons OBE, that so far, you have provided £3.9 million to support the creative sector which has helped 13,000 individuals, artists and businesses.This sector was worth £58 billion to London’s economy prior to the pandemic and provides more than600,000 jobs, which is 11.9 per cent of all jobs in the capital, compared to 4.9 per cent in the rest of the UK.
What further support are you providing to retain skilled creative workers in the city and protect London’s leading reputation for arts and culture?

The Mayor: London is known around the globe for its world class culture and creativity. Retaining and supporting creative workers in the capital will be essential to London’s recovery, economically and socially.
I am supporting the creative industries by investing in a Creative Economy Growth Programme that is delivering hundreds of millions in inward investment, sales and exports each year, and creating hundreds of jobs whilst increasing workforce diversity.
Creative freelancers, making up half of the workforce, have lost a huge amount of work since March 2020. This is why I launched a £250,000 programme, putting creative freelancers front and centre of shaping new proposals to improve working conditions and skills development – including the development of a new Freelancers Charter for employers.
My £32m Adult Education: Good Work for All Fund also invites partnership bids to deliver high quality training and support, particularly to Londoners hardest hit by the pandemic and includes a call for the creative sector.

Support for London’s freelancers

Caroline Russell: When will you publish the research commissioned from Centre for London into support for freelancers during the crisis?

The Mayor: I co-commissioned Centre for London’s research to understand in more depth the experience of self-employed workers in London and measures that could support such workers.
The report has now been published and can be found on the Centre for London website: https://www.centreforlondon.org/publication/self-employed-londoners
It covered all sectors but with a particular focus on culture and the creative industries, which have a high prevalence of self-employed workers who have been especially affected by lockdown measures and restrictions on the creative sector – with up to 60 per cent of creative freelancers losing all of their work since the first lockdown
Since then, I have launched a £250,000 programme which puts creative freelancers front and centre of shaping new proposals to improve working conditions and skills development – including the development of a new freelancers charter for employers.

Support for London’s disabled entrepreneurs (2)

Caroline Russell: In your answer to my question 2021/0024 you told me that theGreater London Investment Fund (GLIF) hosted a roundtable discussionon28 January 2021whichwas to look at the needs of disabled entrepreneurs, as well as women and BAME entrepreneurs.
Could you tell me the recommendations that came out of this roundtable, and also specifically how the roundtable identified ways for the fund to better benefit disabled SME founders?

The Mayor: At the roundtable participants suggested a number of actions to help address the barriers faced by underrepresented entrepreneurs in accessing business finance.The three broad themes which emerged are:
Officers will work up proposals on taking suggested activity forward, interacting with underrepresented groups, and exploring if desired outcomes can be achieved through new policies, advocacy or lobbying for funding.
Following the roundtable discussion, Funding London's and GLIF's Boards agreed to work with the funds' managers to commit at least 15 - 20% of GLIF's £100m to underrepresented entrepreneurs by 31 December 2023. To help facilitate this, GLA and Funding London will work with partnerships to identify organisations that can provide good quality deal flow of businesses led by underrepresented entrepreneurs, including those that are disabled.

Legal limits for clean air

Susan Hall: Is London currently meeting the legal limits for clean air?

The Mayor: An independent study from leading experts at Kings College London in 2019 estimated that without additional action it would have taken 193 years for London to meet legal limits.
With the ULEZ expansion, and the other measures I have put in place since 2016, I expect to be meeting legal limits by 2025, 184 years earlier.
Thanks to the action I have taken, between 2016 and 2019 the reduction in annual average nitrogen dioxide (NO2) at roadside sites in central London was five times the national average reduction; there has been a 97 per cent reduction in the number of schools where pupils are exposed to pollution above legal limits, and a 94 per cent reduction in the number of people exposed to illegal levels of pollution at home.
However, while London met legal limits for most pollutants in 2019 it did not meet limits for annual mean NO2concentrations or limits for the number of allowable exceedances of the 1-hour limit for NO2.
This is why schemes like the expansion of the ULEZ in October, and the recent strengthening of the Low Emission Zone standards for large vehicles remain vital to create sustained, and sustainable, improvements in air quality across all of London.

A green capital

Susan Hall: How far away are you from achieving your aim to make half of the capital green? By what date are you aiming to achieve this?

The Mayor: I remain committed to making London even greener than it is today, building on London’s confirmation as a National Park City in 2019.
The London Environment Strategy set a target to make more than 50% of London green by 2050. The 2019 assessment shows that between 48%-51% of London is green. Another assessment of green cover will be published in 2024 as this time gap is required to monitor real change from aerial imagery.
Through the green recovery, my Green New Deal Fund will address a range of environmental priorities, including improving access to green space and greening the public realm.
Since 2016, I have invested over £13 million in over 300 projects across all 33 local authorities, improving, creating and increasing access to more than 400 hectares of green space. I have planted over 330,000 trees and a further 90,000 trees will be in the ground by March 2022.
The new London Plan provides strong protection for the Green Belt, and MOL, and the Urban Greening Factor policy will accelerate greening in new developments, including green roofs, walls and trees.

Homelessness and Women Leaving Prison (3)

Murad Qureshi: At least 50 vulnerable women are estimated to be leaving prison to homelessness in London each month. These women often have complex needs. For example, many are primary carers of children; have experienced domestic abuse and violence; or suffer with drug dependency or addition. Will the Mayor take action to ensure these women are resettled in safe and secure accommodation?

The Mayor: I invested £4.6m over 3 years from 2018 to 2021, for the provision of wrap around resettlement services, which include safe and secure accommodation. This funding will be extended from April 2021 to June 2022. I have also convened a multi-agency Accommodation & Housing Task Group on women in contact with the CJS, to enable greater collaboration on this issue.
The situation is complex and challenging. The backdrop of increasing austerity and housing shortages is undermining the availability of safe and secure accommodation, which will leave women vulnerable.
It is essential that Government provide greater investment to supporting the rehabilitation of women including provision of specialist trauma-informed services, to deal with problems that lead to crime, and residential accommodation for women ex-offenders, which repeated studies have shown reduces reoffending.

Homelessness and Women Leaving Prison (2)

Murad Qureshi: The London Blueprint says signatories, including MOPAC, will work towards establishing a shared approach across London to address the housing needs of women in contact with the criminal justice system, including preventing homelessness and resettlement on release. What progress has been made on this aim so far and what metrics are being used to measure the effectiveness of this commitment?

The Mayor: As part of the London Blueprint led by MOPAC a multi-agency Accommodation & Housing Task Group has been established prioritising the housing needs of women with dependent children and those with multiple and complex needs and those with no recourse to public funds. Actions include the development of a London Prison Release Protocol to improve the referral pathways and co-ordination between prisons, probation, London Borough Housing and Social Services Departments and voluntary sector service providers. Data analysis is also being undertaken to inform future practice to support women’s housing needs. A draft performance monitoring framework is being finalised, to support the effective implementation of the Blueprint.

Step-Free Consultation

Alison Moore: TfL’s23 October 2019Programmes and Investment Committee said, “TfL has started to engage with stakeholders on priorities for a future step free access investment on the LU network. We are planning to use this engagement to inform planned consultation on future step-free priorities.” Can you update me on the status of this project and when you expect to launch a consultation?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has recently started working on the detailed methodology for how stations should be prioritised for step free access in any future programmes. Comprehensive engagement with disabled stakeholders and their representative organisations will form a vital piece of this workstream.I have asked TfL officers to inform you once a time frame has been set for this engagement.

Step Free London Underground Stations (1)

Alison Moore: Following MQ 2020/0649 are you able to provide an update on the 30 London Underground Stations due to be made step free by Spring 2024?

The Mayor: Step-free access is vital in supporting our customers with mobility needs, and Transport for London (TfL) and I want to ensure funding for such schemes is prioritised wherever possible.
My response to MQ 2020/0649 outlined that 23 stations, not 30, were in scope to be completed by 2024. I can confirm the installation of step free access is now complete at six stations in the Accessibility Programme. These are Buckhurst Hill, Newbury Park, South Woodford, Mill Hill East, Cockfosters and Amersham.
Work continues at a further six stations; Debden, Harrow-on-the-Hill, Ickenham, Osterley, Sudbury Hill and Wimbledon Park, and these will be complete by the end of the year. Step-free access will be delivered at Knightsbridge and Colindale as part of wider development schemes.
The remaining stations, Burnt Oak, Northolt and Hanger Lane, which were scheduled to be delivered this year, along with Boston Manor, North Ealing, Park Royal, Rickmansworth, Ruislip and Snaresbrook, scheduled to be made step-free in 2024, have all been paused pending further discussions with the Government on the funding support that TfL needs following the devastating impact of coronavirus on its finances.

Step Free London Underground Stations (2)

Alison Moore: Following MQ 2020/0650 can you provide an update on what London Underground Stations a) have been made step free or; b) are planned to become step free?

The Mayor: There are now 81 step-free Tube stations on the network. Since my last update in my response to MQ 2020/0650, two more stations - Cockfosters and Amersham - have become step free.These were completed as part of my Accessibility Programme.Please see my response to MQ 2021/1161 which details the other stations in scope for that programme.
There are also other stations where full step free access will be delivered as part of wider development schemes; Knightsbridge and Colindale, Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms as part of the Northern line extension and Whitechapel and Ealing Broadway as part of the Elizabeth line.
Transport for London (TfL) is also progressing step-free access work that will make busy zone 1 stations partially step-free.These are at Moorgate (Metropolitan line), Bank (Northern line) and Paddington (Bakerloo line).

Energy for Londoners (2)

Leonie Cooper: How much in total have you invested in the Energy for Londoners programme since 2016? Please provide a year-by-year breakdown.

The Mayor: Please also refer to the response to MQ 2020/1041.
Energy for Londoners was established in 2017/18. The breakdown per year is:
2017/18: £2.6m
2018/19: £6.4m
2019/20: £4m
2020/21: £6m

Warmer Homes Fund

Leonie Cooper: How many owner/occupiers have been supported through the Warmer Homes Fund? Please provide a year-by-year breakdown.

The Mayor: In the first phase of Warmer Homes (2018-2019), 1,105 owner-occupiers received Warmer Homes funding. Delivery of the second phase (2020 to present) has been heavily affected by the pandemic but so far 248 owner-occupiers have received Warmer Homes funding and this number is expected to rise to over 1,000 by the end of this year if lockdown restrictions ease as indicated.

Biodiversity in London (2)

Leonie Cooper: How many trees have you funded to be planted in London? Please provide a year-by-year breakdown.

The Mayor: From May 2016 to date, I have directly funded the planting of 331,109 trees in London, with trees planted in every borough. This is more than the previous Mayor planted over the course of his two terms.
This includes trees planted through my Greener City Fund community tree planting and woodland creation grants, the Urban Tree Challenge Fund street tree programme, tree giveaways and other directly funded programmes, as well as trees planted by Transport for London on the TLRN. An annual breakdown is provided in the attached table.
In addition to the 331,109 trees already planted, I have committed funds to plant a further 90,000 trees by 2022, including to complete the creation of two new woodlands in our Green Belt, covering 84 hectares.
This total does not include the thousands of trees planted each year in London funded by boroughs, environmental organisations, community groups, developers, businesses and Londoners.

The Mayor: MQ1046 Biodiversity in London (2) - APPENDIX 1.docx

Biodiversity in London (3)

Leonie Cooper: Please provide an update on the work being undertaken to support London’s status as a National Parks City?

The Mayor: London was confirmed as the world’s first National Park City in 2019. Its aims are embedded in the London Recovery Board’s Green New Deal mission, which prioritises tackling the ecological emergency and enhancing Londoners’ access to green space.
Since 2016 I have invested over £13m in greening London: planting 330,000 trees, improving over 400 hectares of green space, and funding over 300 community projects, including 54 in schools. My Grow Back Greener Fund recently supported 34 community projects. Over 90% are in areas of deprivation, and over 80% in areas with poor access to open space.
I have funded six green capital projects including a new linear park creating safe routes to school for children at the Ripple Greenway in Barking, and habitat creation to enhance biodiversity at Brent River Park in Ealing. My funding is also supporting the creation of 85 hectares of newly accessible woodland in the Green Belt.
My new London Plan has strong protections for trees and woodlands, the Green Belt and other open spaces, and my Urban Greening Factor policy will accelerate greening in new developments including trees, green roofs and sustainable drainage.

Licence Lite

Leonie Cooper: Can you please confirm why Licence Lite has ended?

The Mayor: Licence Lite was a twelve-month pilot project. The project became operational on 1 January 2018 and finished on 31 December 2018. The project did not continue after the pilot period because Npower terminated the five-year contract early. Having undertaken a high-level assessment of the market, it was uncertain if the GLA would be able to procure another Third Party Licenced Supply (TPLS) service provider. To do so would have required spending more public money in market testing and tendering for another TPLS, with no guarantee that one could be found, or that they would be able to commit to a five-year contract term. Considering this, I had little choice but to end the Licence Lite project.
Please see Mayor’s Question 2019/9154: https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2019/9154

Taxi and Private Hire Trade

David Kurten: What will you do to rebuild the taxi trade and reverse the declining numbers of black cabs in London seen over the last five years?

The Mayor: Please see my response to MQ 2021/1202.

Improvements in Air Quality around schools

Leonie Cooper: In 2016 there were 455 schools located in areas with illegal air quality, by 2019 this had dropped to 14. What are your plans to clean up the air at the remaining 14 schools?

The Mayor: The air quality audit process has identified ways in which we can help these remaining schools and the London Schools Pollution Helpdesk is a resource to help them implement measures that will improve the air for both staff and pupils. I recently published a report, for example, which showed that School Streets can reduce NO2 levels by up to 23 per cent during morning drop-offs. I will be writing to the 14 schools encouraging them to use the helpdesk.
In addition, the ULEZ expansion will help deliver a 30 per cent reduction in NOx road transport emissions and TfL’s ongoing efforts to clean the bus fleet will contribute to further improvements to air quality across London.
I will also continue to work with local authorities to tackle pollution hotspots. The newly published London Plan, for example, will require developers to meet stricter air quality benchmarks and ensure that they think about air pollution across design, transport and industrial policies. This will be especially important if developments are being planned to include new schools or are being designed around existing ones.

Energy for Londoners

Tony Devenish: Do you think it was right to send Solar Together literature through the doors of Londoners’ homes this close to an election?

The Mayor: My Solar Together London programme is now heading in to the fourth phase and has so far seen almost one thousand homes receive solar installations through the innovative scheme. My ambition is for London to generate one gigawatt of solar energy by 2030 and installing solar on London homes is a key part of this.
. The awareness raising and engagement activities under this programme have been reviewed and agreed by the GLA’s Monitoring Officer and will all cease ahead of the pre-election period starting on 22 March.

Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm (2)

Peter Whittle: Given that your recruitment due diligence failed to uncover the alleged anti-Semitism of one Commission appointee, what else might it have failed to pick up? How can Londoners have confidence in the people you have selected?

The Mayor: As with all Mayoral appointments, the recruitment and appointment for the Commission followed best practice as set out in the GLA’s Protocol on Mayoral Appointments.
The recruitment was open and transparent process with clear criteria, and nearly 300 applications were received. An Independent Panel Member was present at all interviews. At interview, candidates were given the opportunity to discuss or provide feedback on any potential conflicts of interest. In line with the Protocol, all new board appointees require a minimum of two references. The GLA’s HR and Organisational Development are responsible for ensuring references are valid, cover a minimum of three years and are completed by appropriate referees.
I am proud that the Commission brings together a range of diverse range of people with proven leadership ability, expertise and influence across a range of fields including the arts, public art, broadcast, built environment, architecture, community engagement and business.

Taxis in London

David Kurten: Given that the black cab taxi fleet has now shrunk to less than 14,000 vehicles and many drivers are struggling to earn a living, let alone buy a new electric wheelchair accessible taxi for more than £60,000, do you think the black cab has a future in London?

The Mayor: Yes. I am confident that taxis will continue to play a role in London’s future transport offer and will contribute to the recovery from the pandemic. As I have stated in my Transport Strategy, taxis are an important mode of transport that provide an accessible, door-to-door service for Londoners and visitors. Policy 20 of my strategy seeks to ensure London has a safe, secure and accessible world-class taxi service.
Transport for London (TfL) already provides financial support for those taxi drivers who want to invest in a Zero Emissions Capable (ZEC) taxi, including the partial funding of a government-ledplug-in vehicle grant, which gives £7,500 off the price of a new ZEC taxi, alongside the Taxi Delicensing Scheme and the provision of a network of more than 300 Rapid Charge Points (84 of which are taxi-dedicated).
I absolutely recognise the devastating effect the coronavirus pandemic has had on taxi and private hire drivers, both in terms of their personal health and the financial difficulties they face. This is why TfL and I have taken a range of measures to help support taxi and private hire licensees in London throughout the pandemic as detailed in my response to MQ 2020/4262.
These measures supplement the financial support available from the Government. Further to MQ 2020/4262, I have again written to Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to highlight the plight of taxi and private hire drivers and to lobby for specific financial support for them.

Jobs losses due to the pandemic

Caroline Russell: In your interim report, published in January 2021, on the economic future of the Central Activities Zone (CAZ), it states that: “The impact of COVID-19 is severe and far reaching, with a loss of almost a quarter of a million workplace jobs in London between March and the end of 2020, the highest fall in the UK.” In a real-world example of this, a CWU representative has written to tell me that as many as 4,000 BT desk-based jobs in London and the south east of England are being lost under BT’s plans to close sites and move work abroad and to other parts of the UK. What action are you taking to stop this loss of jobs within London?

The Mayor: I have been engaging London’s businesses to understand the challenges they face with to retain and growing their workforce. The London Recovery Board has developed recovery missions to ensure that by 2025 every Londoner can access the support they need to prevent hardship and support Londoners into good jobs.
I am also working with Jobcentre Plus, London Councils, Sub-Regional Partnerships, boroughs and local stakeholders to coordinate careers and employment support so there is no wrong door for Londoners who need help accessing learning, work or advice.
With the right support in place further mass unemployment is not inevitable. I am working to prevent job losses through a number of schemes including the £2.3 emergency Culture at Risk fund, supporting SMEs in the culture and creative sector; the Pay It Forward London (PIFL) scheme, which has raised over £1.8m for SMEs; and the £1m Back to Business fund, providing additional match-funding to businesses on PIFL. I have also called on government to provide the support that employers and workers need following the UK’s exit from the EU and as the pandemic continues. I have announced an additional £5m to encourage people to return to central London.

Tree Planting (2)

Leonie Cooper: How many trees has the Mayor funded to be planted in Merton since May 2016?

The Mayor: From May 2016 to date, I have directly funded the planting of 5,812 trees in Merton.
This includes trees planted through my Greener City Fund community tree planting grants, tree giveaways and other directly funded programmes. Funding has also been allocated for 8 additional trees to be planted this year through my Grow Back Greener Fund.
This total does not include any other trees planted in Merton by the borough, environmental organisations, community groups, developers, businesses and Londoners.
Across London as a whole, over 330,000 trees have been planted as a result of my funding since 2016, with funding committed to plant a further 90,000 by March 2022.

Tree Planting (1)

Leonie Cooper: How many trees has the Mayor funded to be planted in Wandsworth since May 2016?

The Mayor: From May 2016 to date, I have directly funded the planting of 3,712 trees in Wandsworth.
This includes trees planted through my Greener City Fund community tree planting grants, the Urban Tree Challenge Fund street tree programme, tree giveaways and other directly funded programmes, as well as trees planted by Transport for London on the TLRN.
This total does not include any other trees planted in Wandsworth by the borough, environmental organisations, community groups, developers, businesses and Londoners.
Across London as a whole, over 330,000 trees have been planted as a result of my funding since 2016, with funding committed to plant a further 90,000 by March 2022.

Deputy Mayor for Business Overseas Trips

Shaun Bailey: Can you provide me with a list of all dates since May 2016 where the Deputy Mayor for Business went on an overseas trip? Please also provide the locations and the purpose of those trips.

The Mayor: The Deputy Mayor for Business undertakes foreign trips in both his capacity as Deputy Mayor for Business and as Chair of London & Partners in order to promote London for investment, trade, tourism and international students. Such visits include a busy schedule of high-profile speaking events, meetings with business leaders, and in particular those considering investing in London. The Deputy Mayor is in most cases accompanied by a trade delegation of fast-growing London businesses seeking to internationalise, drawn from the Mayor’s International Business Programme, run by London and Partners. With the lack of certainty being created by the chaotic Brexit negotiations, such activities are more important now than ever.
He has also supported the Mayor on several trade missions helping to show the world that London is open to business, visitors and students. Since the start of the pandemic the Deputy Mayor has engaged overseas virtually, including participating in virtual trade missions.
Mission
Purpose
Sao Paulo and Rio – August 2016
Spoke at the Global Investment Conference, at the invitation of Department of International Trade, and undertook other business engagement as part of the British House programme at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games which GLA delivered in partnership with HM Government and Team GB as outlined in MD1601. Engaged with business leaders and entrepreneurs in Sao Paulo to reassure them that London remains open for business.
Chicago & New York – September 2016
Supported the Mayor on his official visit to North America. Led the Mayor’s International Business Programme (MIBP) Trade Mission with 26 high growth technology companies. Held a range of meetings with key FDI clients.
Delhi and Mumbai – November 2016
Invited by Department of International Trade and Confederation of Indian Industry to speak at the UK - India Tech Summit, India’s largest knowledge and technology conference and exhibition, the UK was India’s partner country in 2016. Held a series of meetings and events to promote London to fast growth tech companies, investors and multipliers.
Barcelona – November 2016
Invited to deliver a key note speech at the Smart Cities Expo World Congress. As the world's leading event for cities, Smart City Expo exists to empower cities and collectivise urban innovation across the globe. Through promoting social innovation, establishing partnerships and identifying business opportunities the world congress is dedicated to creating a better future for cities. He also led a MIBP trade mission with 9 companies and met with key FDI clients.
Davos - January 2017
Attended the World Economic Forum in Davos. Met with key FDI clients and promoted London Is Open to senior international business and political stakeholders.
Berlin, Paris and Madrid – March 2017
Led MIBP Trade Mission with 15 high growth companies from Technology and Life Science sectors to Berlin. Led MIBP Trade Mission with 17 high growth companies from the technology sector to Paris and 22 high growth companies from the technology sector to Madrid. Held a range of meetings with key FDI clients and gave a keynote speech at the Paris Fintech conference. Due to the Westminster terrorist attacks the Mayor was unable to attend meetings and events in Berlin & Madrid, so Rajesh stepped in.
San Francisco – June 2017
Led joint MIBP/Silicon Valley Comes to the UK with 15 female founders of high growth companies. Held a range of meetings with key FDI clients. SVC2UK is an initiative that brings together investors, serial entrepreneurs and first-time CEO’s to help high growth companies to become world beaters and grow their companies. One of the companies went on to raise $8m in US funding.
Mumbai and Delhi – September 2017
Undertook meetings and events to promote London as the pre-eminent business destination to potential investors and fast growth tech companies. Held preparatory meetings ahead of the Mayor's visit to India later in the year.
Lille – November 2017
Led a MIBP Mission with 14 high growth companies from the retail technology sector. Also held a range of meetings with key FDI clients.
India & Pakistan – December 2017
Supported the Mayor on his official visit to India and Pakistan. Led the simultaneous MIBP Mission with 17 high growth companies from the technology sector to India. Held a range of meetings with key FDI clients.
Vienna – March 2018
Led MIBP Mission with 12 high growth companies from the financial services technology and Life Sciences sectors. Held a range of meetings with key FDI clients and met with the Mayor of Vienna.
Amsterdam – June 2018
Led MIBP Mission with 18 high growth companies from the financial services technology sector. Invited to give a keynote speech at Money2020 Europe, which is where the smartest visionaries and innovators in payments, FinTech and financial services industries come together and build the future of money. Met with the organisers and key FDI clients.
Shanghai, Shenzhen & Beijing – July 2018
Undertook meetings and events to promote London as the pre-eminent business destination to potential investors and fast growth tech companies. Led MIBP Mission with 10 high growth companies. Held a range of meetings with key FDI clients; and opened London & Partners’ Shenzhen office.
Frankfurt – October 2018
Led MIBP Mission with 15 high growth companies from the financial services technology sector. Held a range of meetings with key FDI clients and met with the Deputy Mayor of Frankfurt.
Shanghai, Hangzhou & Beijing – November 2018
Invited to give a keynote speech at Money20/20 China in Hangzhou. Money20/20 China brought a senior audience of key stakeholders from established multinational organisations to the earliest stage start-ups as well as retailers, investors, analysts, media, regulators and more. Led MIBP Mission with 12 high growth companies and met with key FDI clients.
Berlin – March 2019
Office Launch for L&P’s new Germany office in Berlin. Met with key FDI clients and promoted London to a number of media outlets. Met with Door2Door, Berlin Partners, Senator Frau Ramona Pop. Also had an afternoon tea business round table meeting with 10 scale ups.
Mumbai – April 2019
Visited Mumbai for one day on the 18th April and during this time he met with: Ms Alice Vaidya, Chairperson General Insurance Company and Mr Deepak Parekh, Chairperson HDFC Ltd and London Ambassador. He also had a potential investors lunch meeting with 10 FDI clients and the Trade Commissioner DIT.
Hong Kong, Shenzhen& Shanghai – May 2019
Led a Trade Mission to China with 12 high-growth companies from the creative sector. Undertook meetings and events to promote London as a leading business destination to potential investors and fast growth tech companies. Held a range of meetings with key FDI clients.

84.8m police funding (3)

Susan Hall: Is the £84.8m funding you pledged in 2019 for specialist investigators to disrupt gang violence in London achieving its aim? Please provide data evidencing a reduction in gang violence since that time.

The Mayor: The additional £84.8m funding in 2019/20 was provided to invest in additional officers, staff and crime fighting tools. As part of this, the funding helped to support investment in specific tools and techniques available to frontline officers to investigate crime, including fingerprinting, rapid drug testing, cutting edge capabilities to deal with digital investigations, and advanced techniques to combat child sexual exploitation online.
The recruitment of additional officers to tackle violence has allowed even more focus on the drugs market which fuels gang violence. Since November 2019, more than 500 county line holders and associates have been arrested, and over 280 county lines have been closed.
In addition, recent Met activities, which involved Gangs officers, led to more than 3,800 arrests of suspected violent criminals and over 900 weapons being seized. Alongside enforcement, I have invested in intervention programmes such as LGE (previously known as London Gang Exit) and the hospital-based youth work programme to keep young people safe from violence.
In line with these positive outputs there has been a downward trend in violent crime data in the twelve months to February 2020 (pre-pandemic). Knife crime with injury – victims under 25 (non DA) was 11% lower compared to the twelve months to February 2019. In the same period lethal barreled gun discharges were 36% lower than the peak recorded in the twelve months to December 2018.

Legal Action against outstanding Congestion Charges due from London’s diplomats

Murad Qureshi: Can you please give me an update on what legal measures TfL are taking to recoup the outstanding congestion charging due from London’s diplomats from their embassies & High Commissions?

The Mayor: Proceedings in the International Court of Justice or another international tribunal can only be brought by Her Majesty’s Government, not by Transport for London (TfL).
My Deputy Mayor for Transport wrote to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs asking him to pursue this matter but has yet to receive a reply. The Commissioner has also previously written to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on TfL’s behalf but has not yet received a formal response.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials write to diplomatic missions and international organisations with large Congestion Charge debts annually, to encourage payment.

Outdoor dining in the West End

Nicky Gavron: Al fresco dining is returning to the West End this year, where 60 roads were either closed, or pavements widened to support the economy and hospitality sector in a safe way. Will you consider introducing a seasonal policy on this in the future to enhance footfall and restaurant use?

The Mayor: I welcome Westminster’s commitment to bringing back its al fresco dining scheme, which was a lifeline for so many businesses in the West End last summer.
My High Street Reopening Group, chaired by the Night Czar, has published guidance on outdoor eating and drinking on the London Business Hub. I encourage businesses and local authorities to maximise opportunities for outdoor operation and for them to work collaboratively on creating ‘streateries’ across London.
I’m investing £5m to support the reopening of central London, including a campaign to drive Londoners and visitors back to our hard-hit retail, hospitality and cultural venues as soon as it is safe to do so.
My Deputy Mayor for Culture and Creative Industries, Justine Simons OBE, is actively working with key stakeholders including the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) and the London Tourism Recovery Board. She has also joined Westminster’s West End Futures Board to help develop plans for getting the West End back on its feet.

Litter in London

Nicky Gavron: As the pandemic starts to ease and people are spending more time outdoors in public places, litter has already started to increase. Will you be launching a litter campaign as well as urging local authorities and other stakeholders to increase bin capacity in public places?

The Mayor: London’s boroughs are responsible for the management of litter across the capital. However, recognising the problems arising from the littering of disposable PPE, and masks in particular, I convened a roundtable, attended by boroughs, TfL and other London stakeholders, to prioritise action. I have made communications resources freely available to all boroughs and London’s universities and I have written to all major supermarkets calling on them to stock reusable masks.
I have also installed drinking fountains and supported the Refill London campaign to discourage single use plastic bottles, which are a frequently littered item. Although the installed drinking fountains are currently closed, and further installations have been put on hold, due to the pandemic I plan to reopen these and recommence installations as soon as is feasible.
All boroughs have now produced Reduction and Recycling Plans (RRPs), as required by my London Environment Strategy, many of which include actions on littering and public bins. Through these plans I am urging boroughs to reduce waste, including litter, and find opportunities to recycle as much waste as possible including on the go recycling on streets and in parks. I am providing RRP support directly and through ReLondon (formerly the London Waste and Recycling Board).
I am aware that in order to reduce litter and flytipping London Councils have carried out some research and pilots in conjunction with Keep Britain Tidy. As I do not have powers for litter and waste collection, I will continue to support boroughs to discourage people from littering and I would encourage takeaway providers and retailers to do more to reduce and encourage the responsible disposal of food packaging and other waste associated with littering.

Hammersmith Bridge (1)

Leonie Cooper: Can the Mayor update me on the current situation – is a ferry going to start running soon?

The Mayor: The procurement of a contractor to deliver and operate the temporary ferry is well advanced and Transport for London (TfL) expects to confirm the winning bidder shortly. After an operator has been chosen, TfL will be in a position to set out a timescale for the start of services.
On the bridge, TfL has completed the removal of the pedestal casings and blast cleaning, and Hammersmith & Fulham Council is now undertaking detailed inspections of the structure to confirm the next steps in the initial planned repairs.

Hammersmith Bridge (3)

Leonie Cooper: Can the Mayor update me on the long-term situation – given the cost now appears to be £141m for full reinstatement for vehicle use, including buses, has the Government now indicated that they are willing to support this key part of SW and W London infrastructure?

The Mayor: Discussions between the bridge owner, Hammersmith & Fulham Council, and the Department for Transport regarding how the repairs will be funded are ongoing.
As you know, the pandemic devastated Transport for London’s finances. While it remains willing and able to offer technical support to progress the bridge works, it is not in a position to contribute to the costs of the repairs.

Business rates holiday

Leonie Cooper: You have called for an extension to the business rates holiday for London’s businesses. How has the Government responded to this so far?

The Mayor: In his recent budget the Chancellor extended the business rates holiday until June. Whilst this was welcome news, the Government’s delay in confirming the extension ofbusiness support, including the business rates holiday, has undoubtedly cost jobs and made the life of businesses harder. The Government failed to offer any help to London to kick start domestic tourism and the city’s recovery once restrictions are lifted. London is being left to fend for itself.
Many business groups were surprised and disappointed that the Business Rates Holiday has only been extended until June. Like many others, I have called for support for businesses to be extended for as long as it is needed – this is likely to be well beyond the summer, as we cannot expect the international tourism on which central London in particular is so dependent to return before then.

Unconscious Bias Training at City Hall, LFB, TfL

David Kurten: Since you came to office in 2016, how many employees in a) City Hall b) London Fire Brigade, and c) Transport for London has been given unconscious bias training. How much did this cost?

The Mayor: a) City Hall
In 2018 the GLA launched the Inclusive GLA programme, which covered unconscious bias learning as one element of the programme, to help build a more inclusive culture. In line with best practice the programme involved multiple learning interventions including e-learning, manager training and team workshops, and senior leadership coaching, so some staff will have completed more than one type of learning intervention.
As the various learning interventions contained some elements covering unconscious bias and others exploring different topics related to creating an inclusive GLA, it is not possible to isolate the cost of providing just unconscious bias training.
From 2018 to October 2020 when the programme concluded, 2,176 participants had attended the separate learning interventions (many participants attended more than one intervention). The total spend on the programme to date is £130,987.
b) London Fire Brigade
At the London Fire Brigade approximately 30 people participated in a pilot in February 2019 costing £1,620.
c) Transport for London
The first Unconscious Bias course at Transport for London (TfL) was completed in 2017. Since then, the total number of TfL employees who have completed Unconscious Bias training is 5,014.
Unconscious Bias training at TfL is delivered on an ‘in house’ basis using an online e-learning system. TfL pays £5,000 per annum for the license to use a suite of training materials including Unconscious Bias training.
Additionally, in the last two years, four trainer-led Unconscious Bias workshops were run, at a cost of £1,127.

Good Work Standard within the GLA Group

Susan Hall: How many Good Work Standard accredited employers are part of the GLA Group? Please give a breakdown by organisation and number of employees.

The Mayor: Seven of the 95 accredited Good Work Standard employers are part of the GLA Group.
The table below lists the organisation and the number of employees based on their most recent Workforce Reporting.
Organisation
Number of Employees
Transport for London
27,603
Metropolitan Police
45,404
London Fire Commission
5,822
Greater London Authority
1,172
London Legacy Development Corporation
152
The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime
143
Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation
48

Good Work Standard Employers by Sector

Susan Hall: How many Good Work Standard accredited employers are private, public and third sector employers and how many employees does this equate to?

The Mayor: How many Good Work Standard accredited employers are private, public and third sector employers and how many employees does this equate to?
The numbers of employers and employees by sector as of March 2021 is as follows:
Sector
Number of employers accredited to the Good Work Standard
Number of Employees
Public
20
124,965
Private
55
91,716
Third
20
2,988

2nd round of Mayor’s Skills for Londoners’ Capital Fund (4)

Susan Hall: In which London boroughs have further education projects focusing on construction & digital skills been delivered, subsequent to your £57.6m of funding investment in 2019?

The Mayor: My £57.6m Skills for Londoners Capital Fund Round 2 is made up of 17 projects of which only 5 have completed the physical build or equipment purchase. T Two projects completed a year ago and 3 completed recently therefore outputs for these 5 projects continue to be realised. Projects are contractually required to report on outputs 6 months after completion and then 3 and 5 years after completion.
By the end of January 2021, construction training provision has been delivered in Harrow and Waltham Forest. Other Skills for Londoners Capital Fund projects are underway in the London Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Havering, Brent and Camden. Digital skills are being delivered in Barking and Dagenham with support of my programme.

2nd round of Mayor’s Skills for Londoners’ Capital Fund (5)

Susan Hall: In which London boroughs has training been delivered for those with special educational needs & disabilities, as a result of your £57.6m of funding? Has the training been delivered fairly across all London boroughs?

The Mayor: My £57.6m Skills for Londoners Capital Fund Round 2 is made up of 17 projects, of which only 5 have completed the physical build or equipment purchase. Two projects completed a year ago and 3 completed recently therefore outputs for these 5 projects continue to be realised. Projects are contractually required to report on outputs 6 months after completion and then 3 and 5 years after completion. To date one project has completed and reported outputs for learners with special educational needs and disabilities through construction training in Harrow as a result my Mayor’s Construction Academy capital funding.
The opportunity for investment through the £57.6m capital programmes were disseminated widely and fairly across our entire provider base, we originally received applications across 15 boroughs and investments have been approved across 11 boroughs.

2nd round of Mayor’s Skills for Londoners’ Capital Fund (2)

Susan Hall: Please provide evidence that Londoners with special educational needs & disabilities have since benefited from your £57.6m of funding announced in 2019.

The Mayor: My £57.6m Skills for Londoners Capital Fund Round 2 is made up of 17 projects, of which only 5 have completed the physical build or equipment purchase. T Two projects completed a year ago and 3 completed recently therefore outputs for these 5 projects continue to be realised. Projects are contractually required to report on outputs 6 months after completion and then 3 and 5 years after completion.
By the end of January 2021, 39 learner opportunities for those with special educational needs and disabilities have been created by this funding so far. All remaining projects are now in delivery and the programme target is to support 2,359 Londoners with special education needs and disabilities.

2nd round of Mayor’s Skills for Londoners’ Capital Fund (3)

Susan Hall: Please confirm that digital skills & construction training have been delivered for Londoners since your injection of £57.6m of funding in 2019.

The Mayor: My £57.6m Skills for Londoners Capital Fund Round 2 is made up of 17 projects of which only 5 have completed the physical build or equipment purchase. Two projects completed a year ago and 3 completed recently therefore outputs for these 5 projects continue to be realised. Projects are contractually required to report on outputs 6 months after completion and then 3 and 5 years after completion.
In the past year, additional and improved construction training has been delivered by two projects - Simian Risk and Harrow and Uxbridge College (HCUC) as a result of my Mayor’s Construction Academy capital funding. There are 4 other project that will deliver Construction training, but they are still in delivery. Digital skills are being delivered by Barking and Dagenham college, who received funding for equipment purchases to support the college as an Institute of Technology (IoT). There are 5 other projects that will deliver Digital skills, which are still in delivery.

2nd round of Mayor’s Skills for Londoners’ Capital Fund (6)

Susan Hall: Can you confirm that 5,000 new apprenticeships & 5,000 new work placements have been delivered in London boroughs subsequent to your injection of £57.6m of funds. Have these been fairly distributed across all London boroughs?

The Mayor: My £57.6m Skills for Londoners Capital Fund Round 2 is made up of 17 projects, of which only 5 have completed the physical build or equipment purchase. Two projects completed a year ago and 3 completed recently therefore outputs for these 5 projects continue to be realised. Projects are contractually required to report on outputs 6 months after completion and then 3 and 5 years after completion.
By January 2021, 183 new apprenticeships starts and three work placements from three projects have been delivered in three boroughs so far, supported by this funding.
The opportunity for investment through the £57.6m capital programmes were disseminated widely and fairly across our entire provider base, we originally received applications across 15 boroughs and investments were approved across 11 boroughs.